KSP Interstellar Extended (KSPIE) is a plugin for Kerbal Space Program, designed to encourage bootstrapping toward ever more advanced levels of technology as well as utilizing In-Situ resources to expand the reach of Kerbal civilization. KSP Interstellar Extended aims to continue in Fractals original KSPI vision in providing a realistic road to the stars. Players will first gain access to contemporary technologies that have not been widely applied to real space programs such as nuclear reactors, electrical generators and thermal rockets. By continuing down the CTT tech tree and performing more research, these parts can be upgraded and later surpassed by novel new technologies such as fusion and even antimatter power. We attempt to portray both the tremendous power of these technologies as well as their drawbacks, including the tremendous difficulty of obtaining resources like antimatter and the difficulties associated with storing it safely. The goal being to reward players who develop advanced infrastructure on other planets with new, novel and powerful technologies capable of helping Kerbals explore planets in new and exciting ways. The principal goal of KSP Interstellar is to expand Kerbal Space Program with interesting technologies and to provide a logical and compelling technological progression beginning with technologies that could have been available in the 1970s/1980s, then technologies that could be available within the next few years, progressing to technologies that may not be available for many decades, all the way out to speculative technologies that are physically reasonably but may or may not ever be realizable in practice.

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There are 6 basic components needed to create a working KSPI-E propulsion module are as follow

Reactor - A reactor is needed to produce heat energy or charged particles which is used by other KSPI components to convert it into useful energy. Pebble Bed is recommended for high thrust/atmospheric launches and Molten Salt is recommended for long term usage for upper stage/satellites. Your choices will change as you unlock more components

Generator - A generator is required to produce Electric Charge and MegaJoules, both resources are needed on almost any KSPI vessel. Megajoules are needed for KSPI engines which have ‘Electric Power Needed’ = Yes or Partial

Radiators - Radiators are required to expel WasteHeat from the reactor, generator or engines. Without a radiator you will not be able to generate any power!

Engine - Without an engine this wouldn’t be much of a propulsion module. Most engines operate most effectively when directly connected to the reactor. The reactor heat transfer performance values will indicate how much of the original energy is available if an engine is not directly connected to the reactor. The Atilla and Arcjet RCS thrusters do not require any direct connection to function at 100%. I recommend starting with either the Thermal Turbojet or Thermal Rocket nozzle.

Propellant/Fuel - All Reactors and most Engines require propellant/fuel to operate. The Interstellar Fuel tanks are the standard containers that will be used to store the propellants. Hydrazine or LqdAmmonia are performance fuels and are be strongly recommended for Launch stages.

Control - A probe core or crewed command module is also needed to operate the vessel.

Common Issues

All engines (except vacuum plasma thruster) must overcome the static pressure in the atmosphere and is better suited for vacuum usage and may not show any thrust in the atmosphere. Smaller thrusters will help overcome static pressure

Research

KSPI Is a High tech, hard science mod which gradualy unlocks sophisiticed technologies with advanced research . When researching KSPI techs, your are not forced into following a single path. Instead there are mutliple paths you can focus on.

Nuclear Propulsion is a stock tech but it unlocks the first Nuclear Engine, the Solid NCore Nuclear Engine a.k.a. NERVA. It intitialy can only use LiquidFuel or on Hydrogen as a propellant, but as more Nuclear Propulsion Technology is reseached it is capable of using a divere variation of propellants

Nuclear Power unlocks the first reacor which is specificly ment for fission power production in space, the Molten Salt Reactor which contains a build in thermal electric generator

Advanced Nuclear Power unlocks the the modular Thermal Electric Generator, which when connected to a reactor can produce electric power

Advanceded Nuclear Propulsion allows the NERVA to function in LATERN mode, meaning adding exygin in the nozzle to increase thrust, and unlocks the Thermal Launch Nozzle which can be put under modular reactor

High Energy Nuclear Power unlocks the Particle Bed Reactor, which is capable of generating high amount of thermal heat at a low reactor mass. THe High Trust to Weight ratio makes it suitable of beinged used as a heavy single stage to otbit, which is it's main intended purpose.

Experimental Nuclear Propulsion unlocks the Open Cycle Gas Core Reacor, which offers even higher ISP than the close cycle gas gore reactor but at the expanse of versatility as it is only capable of orating while in space.

Exotic Nuclear Propulsionunlockes the Fission Fragment reactor, which thanks to its ncredible high Isp allow allow to the travel to anywhere in the solar system and behind. The reactor can also be used for High efficiency electric power production

Fusion Power unlucks the First Reactors intended for power production, the Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor which used super powererfull magnetcs to contain a plasma at high temperatures. Although thesereactors are bulky, they have ability to contain charged particles which can directly converted into energy at high efficiencies or redirected to a magnetic nozzle for Insterstellar HIgh Isp. For smaller vessels, The Magnetic Target Fusion Reactor is a highly efficient heat engine, converting fusion fuel and lithium into thermal power.

Fusion Propusion unlock the first fusion engine which are inteded for propusion.

Advanced Fusion unlocks the second tier of fusion fuels and introduces 2 advanced fusion enginess, the Tokamak Fusion engine and the VISTA Inertial Fusion Engine. The Tokamak Fusion engine has an integrated magnetic nozzle which can use any single atom propellant at high Isp and the Vista offers High Isp with High thrust levels

Nuclear Engine/Reactors

The Core of KSPI are its engine/reactor, they make the magic happen. There are now 5 Fission engines and 5 Fission Reactors, 5 types of fusion reactor, and 2 eotic reactor each with the own characteristic behavior, excelling in a particular way (and therefore most fit for certain applications)

Part Model

Unlocking Technology

Power Output (2.5m)

Reactor/Engine Main Properties

Description

Nuclear Propulsion

Improved Nuclear Propulsion

Efficient Nuclear Propulsion

Solid Core Nuclear Reactor is one of the first nuclear engine available capable of using nuclear energy for propulsion, allowing Isp roughly twice the Isp of Chemical rockets. It's thrust to weight using Liquid Hydrogen is initially too low for any launch except in the upper stages. With Advanced Nuclear Propulsion technology is becomes possible to operate in Liquid Oxygen augmented mode effectively tripping the thrust at the cost of 36% lower Isp. With the advent of higher Nuclear propulsion technologies, other propellant then Hydrogen become available as a possible propellant, which is more or less adventurous depending on the circumstances. Solid Core Reactor can also be used for High power production, but due to it's inability to replenish its fuel, has only limited endurance.

Traveling Wave Reactor a.k.a. Candle reactor is a small reactor specificly targeted for small probes. The reactor function in many ways like a candle, where is slowly converts it fisionable material into energy.

Nuclear power

Improved Nuclear Power

Nuclear Fuel Systems

0.44 GW

0.66 GW

1.00 GW

Min Diameter: 0.625m

Dry Mass (2.5m): 8 t

Fuel Mass (2.5): 6 t

Cost: 18k

Molten Salt reactor is the first high thermal power nuclear reactor available KSPI-E, they excel in reliable long lifetime thermal power generation using Uranium. At the expanse of 50% power output it can burnup 99% of all uranium fuel. Besides Uranium it is also capable of using Thorium which generated more power but it durability is significantly lower. On the upside thorium is cheaper than Uranium and can be mined much more abundantly. Because its nuclear fuel is mixed constantly, gases like Xenon gas are not trapped but are extracted and can be used for other purposes. This reactor is also very suitable for Tritium breeding where lithium is converted into valuable Tritium. Another advantage is that the heat from the reactor can be transported effectively to other modules thanks to Molten Salt transport medium.

High Nuclear Power Systems

Experimental Nuclear Power

Exotic Power

1.33 GW

2.00 GW

3.00 GW

Pebble Bed reactors become available a bit later than Molter Salt reactor but thanks to their significantly lower mass they are the first nuclear reactor with can provide a Trust to Weight ratio higher as 1, meaning it can be used as first stage or second stage rocket engine. Although Pebble bed reactors are ideal for providing high thrust, when used for power generation, they suffer from heat throttling, meaning the reactor will automatically produce less heat output when heat is building up. Although reactor uses a transferable fuel source, due to is inefficient fuel usage, (most of the mass is not uranium), it is not efficient for long term power production

Particle Bed Reactor aka TIMBERWIND is the a specialized type of the Pebblebed specialized in high trust propulsion

Efficient Nuclear Propulsion

Experimental Nuclear Propulsion

Exotic Nuclear Propulsion

Closed Cycle Gas Corereactors excel in generating average amounts thrust combined with with significantly Higher Isp compared to it Nuclear counterparts. This makes them ideal for short range planetary missions to like Duna and Eve. The Closed Cycle Gas Core reactor is one of the few High Isp engine reactors which is capable of operating in an atmosphere. With the help of some boosters, it can be used to launch into orbit from Kerbin.

Experimental Nuclear Propulsion

Exotic Nuclear Propulsion

Open Cycle Gas Core reactor excel a generating high amount of thermal power at double the core temperatures the Closed Cycle predecessor with less mass. This is achieved my removing the walls that separate the propellant and the nuclear fuel. Although this allows much higher core temperatures, the disadvantage is the reactor cannot operate while under the influence of acceleration, which happens when it is either on he surface or when accelerating at high speed.

Exotic Nuclear Propulsion

Min Diameter: 3.75m

Dry mass: 16 ton

Cost: 400k

Fission Fragment Reactor (a.k.a. Dusty Plasma) improves over Particle Bed Reactor. When they first become available, they are less powerful as particle bed reactor, but it's the first reactor capable of generating charged particles. The generated charged particles are efficiently transported on your vessel using magnetic confinements and can be used for either Very High Isp propulsion in magnetic nozzle or directly converted into energy with Direct Conversion Power Generator.

Fusion Power

Advanced Fusion

Exotic Fusion

Unified Field Theory

Min Diameter: 5m

Dry mass: 16 ton

Cost: 600k

The Tokamak is one of the first fusion power reactor and comes available with Fusion Power. This reactor is Big and Bulky and require a fixed amount of power to operate but it can be used wide variety of operations. The amount of power required depends on the type of fusion and the number of researched fusion technology. MCF is most suitable for fuel efficient, thermal efficient power production. One of the big advantage of Fusion is that it's fuel can be very cheap, relatively easy to store and has only low radioactive waste product. The Fusions product themselves can be directly converted into electric power, which allows it to be very energy efficient.

Advanced Fusion

Exotic Fusion

Unified Field Theory

1.33 GW

2.00 GW

3.00 GW

4.50 GW

6.75 GW

Min Diameter: 3.75

Mass: 40 ton

Cost: 400k

The Stellarator is similary to the Tokamak a magnetic containment fusion reactor which is havier, limited to thermal and plasma production but it is twise as easy to sustain a fusion plasma. The basic concept is to lay out the magnetic fields so that particles circulating around the long axis of the machine follow twisting paths, which cancels out instabilities seen in purely toroidal machines. The stellarator is of a figure-eight geometry that allows the magnetic containment to more effectively counteract drift of the particles in the containment field. This would keep the fuel confined long enough to allow it to be heated to the point where fusion would take place. The rotation of the particles was introduced by placing a new set of magnetic coils on the half-torus on either end, the corkscrew windings. The field from these coils mixes with the original confinement fields to produce a mixed field that rotates the lines of force through 180 degrees. Allthough the mixed field makes field containment easier, as a result for continious mixing, any fusion charged particles would instanly get thermalized with the fusion plasma, making it unsuitable for charged particles power generation or magnetic nozzle propulsion. Another disadvantage of all those weirdly shaped magnets mean that it's got more mass to it and as such it is best suited for powering beam-powered networks from surface or stationary orbits.

Fusion Power

Advanced Fusion

Exotic Fusion

Unified Field Theory

Diameter: 2.5m

Dry Mass: 8 ton

Cost: 180k

Magnetized Target Fusion Reactor can be smaller than the MCF reactor, but it is limited to providing thermal power. This makes it ideal for build SSTO vessels which require large amount of thermal heat to generate thrust when connected with any thermal nozzle. It can also be used for Electric Power production, but it requires a large amount of radiator to be effective.

Fusion Rocketry

Advanced Fusion

Exotic Fusion

Magneto Inertial Confinement Reactor is the first fusion engine specifically meant for Direct High efficient propulsion. It cannot be used for power and It's not as efficient as electric propulsion but it produces minimal amount of wasteheat, which will reduce the overall mass of the vessel. Note that the propellant is limited to Lithium , which is required both for achieving fusion as converting the fusion power in effective propulsion.

Advanced Fusion

Exotic Fusion

Unified Field Theory

Colliding Beam Fusion Reactor is the first reactor capable and specialized if the generation of Electric power from Aneutronic fusion reactions.The reactor has an integrated charged particle direct energy converter, which allows up to 85% of aneutronic fusion energy to be converted into Electric power. Since the direct energy converter efficiency don't depend on temperature, you can run the radiators a lot hotter, meaning you need a lot less radiators then other reactor which depend on thermal electric power conversion. This means it will be ideal when used with Electric propulsion engines and does not require any heavy thermal electric generators. The downside is the Engine cannot be used with either thermal or magnetic nozzles.

Antimatter Initiated Microfusion (AIM) reactor can deliver more power in a smaller package but only runs on exotic antimatter, helium3 and enriched uranium. The engine can be connected to either thermal nozzles or magnetic nozzles.

Antimatter reactors versatile , expensive, and incredible powerful, the only real problem is collecting significant amount of Antimatter. They produce up to 80% Charged Particles which can be used by magnetic nozzle to create a large amount thrust an high Isp

Quantum Singularity Reactor is the ultimate Mass to Power converter technology. It uses a microscopically sized black hole to accelerate light atoms into charged particles and heat. The charged particles fuse resulting in heavier atoms, which can be used for other purposes. The black hole event horizon also creates small amount of antimatter which can be used by antimatter reactors. The amount of produced power is variable, but the amount of required power to sustain black hole is constant and it has a minimum power level at which the black hole can be kept alive.

Generators are electricity production parts in the KSPI mod. Generators come in 2 different types and function differently. Generators in KSPI generate both electric charge and MegaJoules. Generators must be directly connected to a reactor to generate electricity and can only use power from one reactorGenerator at a time. Radiators are required by the Generator to expel WasteHeat and will not function without them.

Thermal Generators - These generators convert thermal power from a reactor into electrical power and waste heat. Their efficiency determines what percentage of that thermal power is converted into electricity. The rest becomes waste heat. Typical thermal generators in space use closed cycleBrayton gas turbines. For traditional molten salt-based fission reactors, this type of generator gives a maximum theoretical efficiency of 31%. Upgrading the electric generators changes them from Brayton Cycle Turbines to a KTEC Solid State Generator heat engine with no moving parts - this ups the theoretical efficiency to 60%!

Charged Particle Generators - This type of generator produces power directly from the use of charged particles which are created in great quantities by fusion reactors. Charged particle generators have much higher efficiencies than their thermal counterparts. These generators will produce varying amounts of power depending on the reactor and fuel modes used

The Thermal Generator and Charged Particle generators can both be used at the same time on reactors that produce both charged particles and thermal power. This maximizes power potential and lower your utilization and therefore minimise WasteHeat production and reactor fuel consumption.

Radiators

Radiators are used in KSPI to expel excess WasteHeat from a vessel. WasteHeat is produced by reactors, generators, microwave receivers and will build up over time. Once WasteHeat builds up in a vessel to 95% capacity than reactors and microwave receivers will automatically power down. If WasteHeat is allowed to reach 100% then the parts may start being destroyed from too much heat. Non retractable solar panels are exempt from the WasteHeat mechanic.The Thermal Helper addon included with the KSPI installation can be used to estimate a reactorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s WasteHeat output. The values in the addon will dynamically update depending on the connected components. The Thermal helper is only accessible from the VAB/SPH.

Radiators

Title

Unlocking Technology

Foldable

Mass %

Resize Scaling Factor

Radiator Area

Max Temp @ 1 Atmosphere

Max Temp Space

Special

Inline Convection Radiator

Heat Management Systems

no

3

2626K

2626K

100X Atmospheric cooling

Flat Graphene Radiator Panel

Heat Management Systems

no

10%

2

1200K

3700 K

Physics-less

Foldable Graphene Heat Radiator

Heat Management Systems

yes

50%

2.25

400 / 680

1200K

3700 K

Contains Folding automation technology

Large Flat Radiator

Specialized Heat Management

no

2

1200K

3700 K

Can be used for landing stability

Note the radiator performance depend for a large part on unlocked tech nodes:.

Interstellar offers 11 different type of engines, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Thermal Nozzle is the first engine available. They directly use the thermal heat generated by the reactor to heat-up propellant. The Advantage is that this is very efficient, as minimum amount of power is lost, and many propellants can be used. The disadvantage is that Isp, which is lower than other form of propulsion, it dependent and the core temperature of the reactor and used propellant. On the plus side many propellants can be used and thermal nozzles benefits for the energy released by decomposition when propellant are subjected to high temperature. This means propellant like Ammonia and Hydrazine give a significant bonus to thrust and Isp. Although it offers you you to use many resources as an propellant, it might be wise to avoid propellant that contain carbon, as they tend to to produce clog the heat eachanges with soot, which lowers your maximum thrust and causing overheating. For optimal efficiency, connect a thermal nozzle directly to an reactor, but if desired you can put other parts between the thermal nozzle and reactor at the cost of lower efficiency.

Thermal Turbojet becomes available at the same time as thermal nozzle. Their advantage is that they allow high amount of propulsion, without any propellant, that is they use the air as an propellant. This means you can save a lot of mass on propellant. The downside is that it only function inside an atmosphere, on the plus side, this includes any atmosphere, even those without any oxygen. Do note that in order to travel fast though the atmosphere, you need precoolers to cool the compressed air to a temperature that prevent the turbojet from overheating.

Arcjet are the first electric engines offered by Interstellar. Instead of thermal heat, they use electric power to heat a propellant to high temperature. The advantage is that you can use any non oxidizing propellants and enjoy the same decomposition propulsion bonus. One of the big disadvantage is that electric propulsion is less efficient as a lot of power is lost by converting the power into electric power and then convert into heat again. This is compensated by its ability control it's trust at the cost of Isp and the ability to use multiple reactors to power the same set of engines. Arjcets can be connected any where on you vessel, just make sure it is fed with desired propellant, and the reactor has access to radiator to lose its waste heat. [TABLE=class: grid, width: 1600]

Engines

Type

Technology

Method

ISP (LqdHydrogen)

Efficiency

Variable ISP

Gimbal manouverability

Functions in Atmosphere

Functions in Vacuum

Propellant

Electric Power Need

Jet Engine

Special

Thermal Thrust Bonus

Wasteheat effect

Operating Cost

Nuclear Turbojet

Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

203s 2000s

125%

no

very high

full

no

Atmospheric Air

none

Turbojet

build in precooler & build in reactor

no

Consumes

very low

Nuclear Ramjet

Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

203s 2000s

125%

no

high

full

no

Atmospheric Air

none

Ramjet

build in precooler and air intake

no

Consumes

very low

Thermal Launch Nozzle

Improved Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

up to 3000s

100%

no

high

yes

yes

any NTR propellant + Oxygen as afterburner

none

Can overheat when clogged

full

Consumes

low

Thermal Ramjet Nozzle

Improved Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

up to 3000s

100%

no

average

yes in atmospheric mode

yes

Atmospheric Air or any NTR propellant

none

Ramjet

Can overheat when clogged

full

Consumes

low

Thermal Turbojet

Improved Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

up to 3000s

100%

no

high

partial with propellant thermal, full in jet mode

yes

Atmospheric Air or NTR propellant

none

Turbojet

Can overheat when clogged

full

Consumes

very low

Nuclear Light Bulb

Efficient Nuclear Propulsion

Thermal

1850s - 2970s

100%

no

high

partial

any NTR propellant

none

full

low

Plasma Nozzle

Plasma Propulsion

Thermal

3000s - 12000s

100%

yes (*)

low

partial

mono atomic propellants

yes (*)

Low

low

5 way Resistojet RCS

Ion Propulsion

Thermal

272s (cold) / 544s (heated)

80%

partial

RCS

yes

yes

Any propellant

partial

Cannot use oxidizing propellants

full

High

low

VTOL Resistojet (*)

Ion Propulsion

Thermal

1000s

80%

no

high

yes

yes

Any propellant

yes

Cannot use oxidizing propellants

full

Low

average

Linear Arcjet RCS

Advanced Ion Propulsion

Thermal

272s (cold) / 2000s (heated)

52%

no

RCS

partial

yes

Any propellant

partial

Cannot use oxidizing propellants

full

High

average

ATILLA

Advanced Ion Propulsion

Magnetic/ Thermal

2854s - 5704s (*)

50-80%

yes

average

partial

yes

Any propellant

yes

Cannot use oxidizing propellants

partial

Average

average

MPD

Plasma Propulsion

Magnetic

11213s

ionisation efficency

no

average

partial

yes

Any propellant

yes

Efficency depend on propellant

no

Average

average

VASMIR

Advanced Electromagnetic Systems

Magnetic / Thermal

2956s - 29,969s

30-60%

yes

low

no

yes

mono atomic propellants

yes

Efficency depend on Isp and Atmospheric Density

no

High

average

EM drive

Specialized Plasma Generation

Quantum Vacuum

> 10.0000.000

10%

no

low

yes

yes

vacuum plasma from nothing

yes

reactionless propulsion

no

Very High

low

Magnetic Nozzle

Advanced Plasma Propulsion

Charged Particles/ Magnetic

12.000 - 1.200.000

100%

yes

none

no

yes

LqdHydrogen + Charged Particles

low, 1% charged power

Requires charged particles

no

Consumes

average

VISTA

Fusion Rocketry

Fusion

15.500 - 27.200

> 10000%

limited

low

no

yes

LqdHydrogen + LqdDeuterium + LqdTritium

up to 2.5 GW

Deadly radiation and Safety Features

n.a.

Extreme

very high

DEADALUS

Advanced Fusion

Fusion

1.000.000

> 10000%

none

none

no

yes

LqdDeuterium + LqdHelium3

up to 5 GW

Aneutronic

n.a.

high

extreme

(*) not yet implemented

Type - This field describes the technology behind the engine. The technologies used in KSPI are based closely on real life engines or scientific theories. Note the distinction between Thermal and Magnetic. Thermal engines have limited Isp but benefit from thermal decomposition, giving it extra thrust and improved Isp. Magnetic engines first need to Ionize the propellant. Some engines like the Vasimr and Atilla engine use a combination of the 2 techniques.

Method- This describes the engine's power input used to generate thrust. Engines can use Thermal (GW) power from a reactor, magnetic types use charged particles, quantum vacuum uses the vacuum of space to produce thrust and Fusion uses an internal fusion reaction to produce thrust.

ISP (LqdHydrogen)- This section shows the ISP (fuel efficiency) an engine produces when using LqdHydrogen as the propellant. Different types of propellants can provide different thrust values in an engine which is covered in more detail the Propellants section.Efficiency - The efficiency of an engine is how much of the thermal power (GW) is used to produce thrust and the remainder is expunged as Waste Heat. A low efficiency engine may require additional radiators to radiate the heat into the surrounding environment. The efficiency of electric engines is highly dependant on the efficiency of the propellant used.

Variable ISP - In KSPI some engines can have a variable ISP when operating. The ISP of an engine decreases as it produces more thrust. Higher thrust values also decrease the energy conversion efficiency.

Gimbal - This describes if the engine has gimbal capability. Gimbaled engines can use thrust vectoring to control the attitude of a vessel. Note that RCS engines do not gimbal but are linked with KSP RCS system.

Functions in Atmosphere- This is another self-describing value which explains if the engine can produce thrust when in an Atmosphere. Some engines rely on the vacuum of space or other methods to produce thrust and cannot be used in an Atmospheric environment. Many of the thrusters in KSPI are affected by static pressure. Which means the engine has to overcome the pressure of the atmosphere before producing usable thrust. Static pressure can be overcome by using a higher thrust propellant or by using a smaller nozzle.

Propellant- The propellant section explains which propellants are compatible with a given engine. Note that some engines can be upgraded to allow for additional propellants than is initially unlocked.

Electric Power Need- This section explains if Electrical Power (measured in MegaJoules) is required for the engine to operate. Engines can require partial or full electric power, as well as mixed types that also use charged particles. Some engines like the RistoJet RCS, will switch to unpowered mode when insufficient power is available. These engines can therefore be used without KSPI reactors.

Special- The special column covers any extra information about an engine that does not fit into a specific category on the chart.

Thermal Thrust Bonus - This describes an engines ability to produce extra thrust depending on the propellant used. The temperature of the thermal engine also plays a factor on the thermal thrust bonus when factoring in thermal decomposition of a fuel. (More below in the Propellants section)

WasteHeat effect- This explains how much Waste Heat is generated when firing a particular engine. Engines can both consume WasteHeat as well as produce WasteHeat depending on the engine technology used.

Operating cost - This gives a general overview of the operating cost of running a engine. Electric engines are more expensive than thermal engines, since thermal engines have require less radiators. Vista Engines are very expensive to operate due to their high rate of consumption of Tritium.

Warpdrive (Faster Than warp drive)

Raw Resource

Procesed Resource

Borate

15% Boron 70% Oxygen

Silicates

20% Silicon 6% Lithium

Hydrates

25% Water 5% CO2

Nitratine

27% Sodium 16 Nitrogen 56% Oxygen

Salt

10.8% Sodium 1% Lithium

Monozite

Cesium Thorium

Spodumene

Lithium Aluminium

In KSP, The Light Warp Engine, the Foldable Warp Engine and the Heavy Warp Engine. The amount of warp power is directly dependent on the mass of the warp drive. Warp drives also stack linear, which means it will not matter if you use 24 ton of light warp drives or a single large warp drive. Fast than light speed is only possible by folding space itself. Space in front of the vessel needs to be shrunken while space behind it the vessel is extracted. To shrink and expand space, you need to generate negative mass which can be achieved by exciting exotic matter. KSPI warp drive can generate exotic matter and use it to create a warp field. The amount of power required to create a stable warp fields depends on the speed and power of the warp coils.

The speed of light itself requires the least amount energy. Traveling faster or slower requires more power. However speed is influenced by a large degree by the curvature of space, in other words, gravity. It means that the higher the gravity pull of any heavily body, the lower the maximum speed possible for a finite amount of power requirement. This effectively means that when a vessel is in a low Kerbin orbit, where the pull of gravity is significant, the maximum warp speed is very low. And since traveling slower than the speed of light requires more power, it means that it will be hard or impossible to generate enough power. To get around it, you need to bring your vessel further away from the gravity source or install more warp drive power.

Warp Power is achieved by any of the 3 warpdrives in KSP, The Light Warp Engine, the Foldable Warp Engine and the Heavy Warp Engine. The amount of warp power is directly dependent on the mass of the warp drive. Warp drives also stack linear, which means it will not matter if you use 24 ton of light warp drives or a single large warp drive.

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In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU )

On the Surface, several Ores can be mined which can be processed into Molecular resources, which can be used for direct propulsion or processed further into more advanced fuels

Raw Resource

Processed Resources

Borate

15% Boron 70% Oxygen

Silicates

20% Silicon 6% Lithium

Hydrates

25% Water 5% CO2

Nitratine

27% Sodium 16 Nitrogen 56% Oxygen

Salt

10.8% Sodium 1% Lithium

Monozite

10% Cesium 10% Thorium232

Spodumene

10% Lithium 20% Silicon 10% Aluminum 20% Oxygen

Atmospheric scoop

KSPI offers the ability to scoop gas directly from the atmosphere (or just above it) into resources which can be used for propulsion or ISRU refinery processes. The rate at which you can collect depends on the density and abundance of a gas. Note that you can also collect resource just above the atmosphere and that light gasses as Hydrogen and Helium gradually become more abundant the higher you get

Planet/Mun Atmospheric composition:

Reveal hidden contents

ISRU Refinery

The ISRU Refinery allows you to process resources into other resources

Note that do not consider myself the person that have to determine the future of KSPI, it's just that nobody else seems to want to do it. I would be more than happy to share that responsibility. Anyone that actively want to develop KSPI is free to do it. It would appreciate it as it would allow me to focus more on advanced features I have ideas about. Also notice I haven't had the time yet to play a serious KSP 1.0 campaign yet. But now my hands are full just making KSPI-E functional again. I think KSPI could develop into something much better. The simply truth is, KSPI is too big for a single developer. I don't have the time nor the skills to implement everything that it deserves. I'm especially frustrated about the lack of artist support. Many of KSPI models and effects look dated and ugly compared to more resent mods. There have been some artist and programmers offering their help but they often go AWOL after a short time. I'm not sure If I can keep it up myself indefinably. I would prefer to create a team of developers that works on KSPI together. I guess that's the only way to ensure KSPI Future

Beamed Power

Receiver Types:

Type

Tech requirement

Efficiency

Mass

Max Capacity

Bandwidth

Coverage

Relay

Special

Surface Thermal

low

low

heavy

high

Full Spectrum

Full

no

Can be used for Thermal propulsion

Solar Thermal

average

low

average

high

Microwave up to Ultraviolet

Full

partial

Suitable for Low orbit solar power collecting

Solar Photovoltaic

low

high

average

average

Infrared up to Ultraviolet

Full

no

Powered by the Sun, most efficient in near infrared

Thermal photovoltaic

average

average

heavy

high

Full spectrum

Full

no

Powered by the Sun

Rectenna

average

high

light

low

Microwave up to Ultraviolet

selected in VAB

no

most efficient in microwave and infrared

Ultraviolet photovoltaic

high

high

average

average

Soft X-Ray down to Infrared

Full

no

most efficient in extreme ultraviolet

Multiwavelength Dish

low - very high

high

heavy

average

Microwave up to Ultraviolet

selectable in Flight

partial

Also able to transmit when connected to a beam generator and relay when another dish is available

Phased Array

high

good

average

low

Microwave up to Infrared

selected in VAB

yes

Also able to transmit and relay

X-ray Photovoltaic

very high

high

heavy

average

X-Ray to Infrared

Full

no

Most efficient in Hard X-rays

Parts

Image

Name

Technology

Cost

Mass

Receive / Transmit Diameter

can receive thermal

can receive electric

can receive data

Receive Wavelength

Transmit Power

@ 2.5m

Can Transmit Science

Can Link Up

Can Relay

Transmit wavelength

Transmit Efficiency

Receive Efficiency

Role / Special

Special

Microwave Transducer

Large Electrics

2000

4 t

10m

no

no

no

n.a.

4 GW

yes

n.a.

no

8.56 mm

maximum

n.a.

Integrated Microwave Generator

Inline Thermal Receiver Mk1

Large Electrics

2000

n.a.

maximum

Can power thermal engine or generator

Multi Bandwidth Dish Transceiver (Shielded)

Advanced Solar Technology

5000

6 t

5m

10 nm - 1m

yes

yes

yes

yes

n.a.

high

universal transceiver

In flight bandwidth switching

Phased Array Transiever

Advanced Solar Technology

1 t

5 m

2 GW

1 - 10 mm

1 GW

no

8.56 mm

n.a.

100%

Deployable Phased Array Transiever

Advanced Photovoltaic Materials

2.5 t

25m

5 GW

1 - 10 mm

2.5 GW

yes

8.56 mm

90%

90%

Radial Phased Array

2

35 Ghz , 94 Ghz,

Inline Thermal Electro Phased Array

2

35 Ghz , 94 Ghz,

90%

Sphere Thermal Electro Phased Array

2

35 Ghz , 94 Ghz,

90%

Radial Microwave Rectenna

5m

Diode Infrared Laser Turret

1

0.5 m

n.a.

750 nm - 1mm

no

85%

n.a.

Early IR trasnmitter with Build in Beam generator

Integrated IR Beam generator

Radial Thermal Voltalic Receiver

2

5 m

750 nm - 1mm

no

n.a.

60%

Radial Photvaltalic Receiver

2

5m

10 nm -700 nm

60%

Radial Rectenna

2

5m

1 mm - 1 m

750 nm - 1mm

10nm - 750

no

no

Oversized Thermal Dish Receiver Aluminum

3

100m

yes

1/3 thermal power

yes 0.005%

400 nm - 1m

microwave only

DIRECT

yes

Performs better in UV visible light wavelengths

can receive in electric at 1/3 thermal power

Oversized Thermal Dish Receiver Gold

3

100m

yes

1/3 thermal power

yes 0.005%

400 nm - 1m

microwave only

DIRECT

yes

ss

Microwave Infrared Rectenna

3

10m

no

yes

750 nm - 1m

no

no

no

75%

Infrared Mirror

3

10m

700 nm - 1mm

no

no

yes

95%

Can directly relay beamed power

can only relay

UV Light Mirror

3

10m

10 nm -700 nm

no

no

yes

90%

Can directly relay beamed power

can only relay

Multi Bandwidth Dish Transceiver (Medium)

Advanced Photovoltaic Materials

10000

8 t

10m

yes

yes with 0.005%

Configurable

10nm - 1m

yes

RELAY

yes

yes

Depends on connected beam generator

Depends on wavelength

universal transceiver

In flight bandwidth switching

Multi Bandwidth Dish Transceiver (Large)

Microwave Power Transmission

40000

32 t

20m

yes

1 mm - 1 m

750 nm - 1mm

10nm - 750

yes

RELAY

yes

yes

Depends on connected beam generator

Depends on wavelength

universal transceiver

In flight bandwidth switching

Beamed Power Absolution

Atmospheric absorption of beamed power in general follows the following graph

Data Transmission

Besides beamed power transmission, some of the parts used for beamed power are also suitable for data transmission. For comparison the stock transmitter are included

Name

Type

Interval

PacketSize

Transmit Cost

Standby Cost

Dish Angle

Transmit Distance

Combinable

Communotron 16

DIRECT

0.6

2

12 EC

5.0e+5

True

HG-5 High Gain Antenna

RELAY

0.35

2

18 EC

1.15 EC / s

90

5.0e+6

True

RA-2 Relay Antenna

RELAY

0.35

1

24 EC

2.0e+9

True

RA-15 Relay Antenna

RELAY

0.35

2

24 EC

1.5e+10

True

RA-100 Relay Antenna

RELAY

0.35

4

24 EC

1.1 EC / s

0.025

1.0e+11

True

Communotron DTSM1

DIRECT

0.35

2

12 EC

2.0e+9

True

Communotron HG-55

DIRECT

0.15

3

20 EC

1.5e+10

True

Communotron 88-88

DIRECT

0.1

2

20 EC

1.0e+11

True

Microwave Phased Array Transceiver

RELAY

0.1

1

25 EC

2.5 EC /s

160

1.0e+7

True

Deployable Microwave Phased Array Relay Reciever

RELAY

0.1

1

100 EC

10 EC /s

160

5.0e+7

True

RadialThermal Dish Receiver

DIRECT

0.1

1

50 EC

5 EC /s

0.005

1.0e+12

True

Folding Thermal Dish Receiver Gold

DIRECT

0.1

1

50 EC

5 EC /s

0.005

1.0e+12

True

Multi Bandwidth Rectenna Dish Transceiver (10m)

RELAY

0.1

1

100 EC

10 EC /s

0.005

1.0e+13

True

Multi Bandwidth Rectenna Dish Transceiver (20m)

RELAY

0.1

1

400 EC

40 EC /s

0.005

5.0e+13

True

Oversized Microwave Infrared Thermal Receiver

DIRECT

0.1

1

800 EC

80 EC /s

0.005

1.0e+14

False

Mk1/Mk2 Thermal Receiver

The Mk1/Mk2 Thermal Receiver is the first beamed power receiver ( it has the advantage that it is compatible with any wavelength, a property of thermal receivers). It basically operates by absorbing the beamed energy and generate thermal heat. The thermal heat can then be used directly for propulsion or energy production when connected with a thermal electric generator. The Mk1/Mk2 Thermal Receiver optimal receival is 100% from the sides and 0% from the top or bottom. This blindspot can be a major problem when ascending because during a natural gravity turn, the bottom will point directly toKSC. Therefore placing a transmitter next to theKSCis the worst location for a transmitter when ascending. there are basically 2 methods of combatting this. Either place a beamed power transmitter a few kilometer to the west or use a transmitter on a ship east fromKSC. Putting the transmitter westward is the easiest and has to advantage of allowing you to park a transmitter at a high hill or mountain, which benefits from low atmospheric absorption. The disadvantage is that it requires a retrograde orbit. On the other hand using a ship vessel as transmitter has the advantage is that you can place vessels in a prograde orbit, requiring less propellant. Regarding the launch, the normal gravity turn is not the ideal ascend as it would reduce the time you are in range of your transmitter. Instead use a vertical launch and turn horizontal at 35000 m. This will ensure the thermal receiver sides are exposed as long as possible to your transmitter. Next one in space, you are advice to use a thermal receiver dish, which functions as a slave, feeding the thermal receiver for power. The big advantage of a dish is that they can receive beamed power direct from the bottom of the vessel. You can do even better if you combine it with a power pivot from infernal robotics, aiming the dish at the surface transmitter.

The following picture might clarify what kind of ascend profile you have to use.

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Well technically is was already released but I feel we need to split up in a thread that is specicily mend for support/help and the development is mend more for real development.

But I also have the feelling that after 2 years of development, it has reached a maturity level worthy of beeing called a release mod. We also now have several Help files and tutorials which will help people get started, but I will admit there is still a lot that can be improved on this subject

For your information. KSPI Extended was originaly mend as a mod that would allow you to play with both Mods, Fractals KSPI and Nertea Near Future Mods together. It eventual developed into a new Mod in itself.

KSPI-E will automaticly balance itself whenever it detect Near Future Electric is installed. Effectivly it means it will adjust all power levels to get comparable with Near Future. I admit this can be a bit confusing.

Edited January 19, 2017 by FreeThinker

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Ow, so Hi and sorry for the first post . So i think i have to repost my thing...

I was flying my testcraft and i tried, to launch the warp drive. It charge, charge, charge, and juste before 100 % (99.80 % i saw) All the charge does poof and i have to restart the load,, to get the same result.

I would be very happy if i can visit all these beautiful planets with my "stickcraft".

here is a screenshot from my game (no integrated, sorry , click the link)

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Hi, I have pondered jumping into KSP Interstellar for a long time. I have used Near Future Tech in the past. I find it fun to build NFT ships but I do not enjoy the extreme drawbacks and negligible thrust-to-weight provided by NFT ships. It leaves me feeling like I might as well go back to stock engines and fuel.

So I'm just looking for some opinions, does KSP-I progress in such a way that I won't feel inclined to return to stock engines and fuel? Or do the drawbacks escalate in such a way that it leaves you wondering why the technology was invented at all?

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Hi, I have pondered jumping into KSP Interstellar for a long time. I have used Near Future Tech in the past. I find it fun to build NFT ships but I do not enjoy the extreme drawbacks and negligible thrust-to-weight provided by NFT ships. It leaves me feeling like I might as well go back to stock engines and fuel.

So I'm just looking for some opinions, does KSP-I progress in such a way that I won't feel inclined to return to stock engines and fuel? Or do the drawbacks escalate in such a way that it leaves you wondering why the technology was invented at all?

I think you've found the right mod then

KSP-IE does add a lot of new stuff and once you reach the various nuclear engines, you will probably sideline stock engines for most tasks. There are some drawbacks to most technologies (waste heat production, mass, antimatter collection etc.) but the drawbacks are not extreme and are more like an interesting side-challenge. Those are my two cents, anyway

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Ow, so Hi and sorry for the first post . So i think i have to repost my thing...

I was flying my testcraft and i tried, to launch the warp drive. It charge, charge, charge, and juste before 100 % (99.80 % i saw) All the charge does poof and i have to restart the load,, to get the same result.

I would be very happy if i can visit all these beautiful planets with my "stickcraft".

here is a screenshot from my game (no integrated, sorry , click the link)

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I am getting annoying with the ram up time when lighting the nuclear engines because of how it affects theKERand Mechjeb calculations. The specific engine I'm looking at is the gascoreengine.

I have found where in its cfg to turn off the buoyancy effects(which I am leaving on), but I really don't like how theISPchanges and the max thrust calc changes in the first two seconds the engine goes full throttle. Is there a way I can change my config so on full throttle it keeps the sameISPthe whole time while it ramps up? or is it totally dependent on the reactor core temp which takes time to ramp.

I just tried with all FTL rings and a lighter ship (FTL in all the sizes provided by tweakscale) And i think that's not a gameplay problem but a more technically thing, because i saw that the only thing that draw MW is the DC ES and no WARP engine at horizon... it doesn't work in my modded install and even in a clean install.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shkeiru

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I just tried with all FTL rings and a lighter ship (FTL in all the sizes provided by tweakscale) And i think that's not a gameplay problem but a more technically thing, because i saw that the only thing that draw MW is the DC ES and no WARP engine at horizon... it doesn't work in my modded install and even in a clean install.

You don't need to scale the WarpDrive, the different models are for different mass of the ship.

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Ow, so Hi and sorry for the first post . So i think i have to repost my thing...

I was flying my testcraft and i tried, to launch the warp drive. It charge, charge, charge, and juste before 100 % (99.80 % i saw) All the charge does poof and i have to restart the load,, to get the same result.

I would be very happy if i can visit all these beautiful planets with my "stickcraft".

here is a screenshot from my game (no integrated, sorry , click the link)

I see you are using the quantum singularity reactor, which is the most most powerful reactor in KSP, however, the disadvantage is that it always produces power, and therefore wasteheat. What I think what happened is that your vessel overheated. I would advice to add a lot more radiators.

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I am getting annoying with the ram up time when lighting the nuclear engines because of how it affects theKERand Mechjeb calculations. The specific engine I'm looking at is the gascoreengine.

I have found where in its cfg to turn off the buoyancy effects(which I am leaving on), but I really don't like how theISPchanges and the max thrust calc changes in the first two seconds the engine goes full throttle. Is there a way I can change my config so on full throttle it keeps the sameISPthe whole time while it ramps up? or is it totally dependent on the reactor core temp which takes time to ramp.

Well it is a reality feature of thermal engine, which become hotter and therefore more efficient (with high Isp) the more they are powered.

Solid Core Reactor take the longest time to heat om. In realy takes 30 seconds before they are fully heated up. This is simply due to the neutronicty which take time to build up. It's an inherent disadvantage of Solid Core Nuclear Reactors. To minimize the effect you can disable the config setting "delayedThrottleFactor"

5 minutes ago, Shkeiru said:

Okay i'll provide you for tomorrow. So , do you want logs or anythings ?

For info , the "bug" occur even in a clean install and i run 1.11.19 in ksp 1.2.2

logs are not needed if you can just tell me what mods you have installed and how you vessel is configured

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Wow, there certainly is a lot of stuff packaged with this mod. Is it possible to simply take the "WarpPlugin" directory from the package and install that if I have everything else (that I want) already installed?

E: Looks like it. Thanks.

Edited January 20, 2017 by regex

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What do the new function buttons on solar panels do? One switches from beamed power to radiator, and the other switches from beamed power to solar only. I haven't unlocked any of the beamed power tech yet

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What do the new function buttons on solar panels do? One switches from beamed power to radiator, and the other switches from beamed power to solar only. I haven't unlocked any of the beamed power tech yet

Not sure on exactly what solar panel you are referring to but solar panel can be used to as a receiver of beamed power in the visible wave spectrum. There are several transmitter capable of transmitting in the wavelength compatible with solar panels and the become avialable a lower tech than you might think.

The button you are referring to allow you to configure it, but being able to configure it as a radiator sounds like a bug I need to fix.

5 hours ago, regex said:

Wow, there certainly is a lot of stuff packaged with this mod. Is it possible to simply take the "WarpPlugin" directory from the package and install that if I have everything else (that I want) already installed?

E: Looks like it. Thanks.

Yes, technically only Tweakscale and CRP are really required to use KSPIE, all other mods are highly recommended as they improve the user experience of KSPIE.

8 hours ago, BBM said:

@FreeThinker an experienced you-tuber is starting a series based on KSPI-E:

He is using a ton of other mods including RO and RSS but it might have some helpful tips for beginners.

Nice to see KSPIE finally used in some campaign. To bad it is using an old 1.1.3 version of KSPIE which doesn't include all the new features like the Daedalus Inertial fusion engines, which would have been really usefull if you intend to travel ligh years without FTL